Citizen Science in OER Commons

Students enjoy doing 'real' science and by doing so they begin to see science as a way of examining the world by asking questions. Empowering students to contribute to the body of scientific knowledge also helps them develop a personal and vested interest in science. Citizen science projects connect students to scientists in the field, build observation skills and an understanding of phenology, use technology for data entry and evaluation, and provide opportunity for nature journaling, note-taking, and scientific writing. Involve your students in inquiry-based learning, while building an appreciation of science to their lives.

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Citizen Science in OER Commons Collection Resources (127)

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02d. The Bill of Rights
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
02d. The Bill of Rights
Rating

States cherished their new freedom from British control, and ratification of the Constitution by state legislatures was by no means certain. All thirteen states finally ratified by 1790, but only with the addition of ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, that guaranteed citizens' rights and freedoms.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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03a. The Founders and Federalism
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
03a. The Founders and Federalism
Rating

The founders very carefully divided powers between federal and state governments. They were responding to both the colonial aversion to the tyranny of King George III as well as the failure of the Articles of Confederation. Their careful separating and blending of state and national powers guarded against tyranny, allowed for more citizen participation in government, and provided a mechanism for incorporating new policies and programs.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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04d. Participating in Government
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
04d. Participating in Government
Rating

People may participate in politics in many ways. They can write their Representative or Senator, or work in for a candidate or political party. They can make presentations to their local school board or city council, or call the police to complain about the neighbor's dog. Partly because of our federalist system, people have many opportunities to participate in our democracy on federal, state, and local levels. Some forms of participation are more common than others and some citizens participate more than others, but almost everyone has a voice in government.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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04e. Voting: A Forgotten Privilege?
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No Strings Attached
04e. Voting: A Forgotten Privilege?
Rating

Voting is at the heart of democracy. A vote sends a direct message to the government about how a citizen wants to be governed. And yet, only 48.8 % of eligible voters actually cast their ballots in the 1996 presidential election. That figure represents the lowest general presidential election turnout since 1824. In off-year elections (those when the president is not running) the statistics are even worse. Why don't people vote?

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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05. How Do Citizens Connect With Their Government?
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
05. How Do Citizens Connect With Their Government?
Rating

Sure, state and local governments allow many opportunities to get in touch with government, but in some ways federalism just makes government all the more confusing and unapproachable. Yet a democracy depends for its very livelihood on meaningful contacts between the people and the government. How does this happen in modern America?

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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06e. How a Bill Becomes a Law
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No Strings Attached
06e. How a Bill Becomes a Law
Rating

Creating legislation is what the business of Congress is all about. Ideas for laws come from many places — ordinary citizens, the president, offices of the executive branch, state legislatures and governors, congressional staff, and of course the members of Congress themselves.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
MoreLess
10a. Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
10a. Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens
Rating

The 14th Amendment guaranteed "equal protection of the law" more than 130 years ago. The fact that it took so many years for its effects to be felt is testimony to the complexity of the decision-making process in a democracy. It took all three branches, active interest groups, and concerned individual citizens to bring the country closer to the ideal of equal rights for all.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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10d. Citizenship Rights
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
10d. Citizenship Rights
Rating

All countries have rules that determine who is a citizen, and what rights and responsibilities come with citizenship. In the United States, the 14th Amendment gives constitutional protection of the basic rights of citizenship: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the States wherein they reside." So citizenship is conferred on the basis of place of birth and the process of naturalization.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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12b. Financing State and Local Government
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
12b. Financing State and Local Government
Rating

Paying taxes is surely everyone's least favorite government-related activity. But taxing citizens is one of the concurrent powers of government. Federal, state, and local levels all have the power to tax.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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13b. Comparing Economic Systems
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
13b. Comparing Economic Systems
Rating

There is no purely capitalist or communist economy in the world today. The capitalist United States has a Social Security system and a government-owned postal service. Communist China now allows its citizens to keep some of the profits they earn. These categories are models designed to shed greater light on differing economic systems.

Subject:
Political Science
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
American Government
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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2012 Election Issues: Democracy & the Citizens United Case
Conditions of Use:
Read the Fine Print
2012 Election Issues: Democracy & the Citizens United Case
Rating

Students will: share their associations with the term "democracy"; come up with a working definition for democracy; consider other forms of government besides democracy by discussing a Winston Churchill quote; watch and discuss in small groups an animated short on the history of the Supreme Court case of Citizens United versus FEC; for homework, research the liberal and conservative perspectives on Citizens United versus FEC; for the next lesson, participate in a dialogue with one half of students presenting the liberal perspective and the other half presenting the conservative perspective.

Subject:
U.S. History
Political Science
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Homework/Assignment
Lesson Plan
Provider:
Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility
Provider Set:
Teachable Moment
Author:
Marieke van Woerkom
Date Added:
07/01/2012
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50 Nifty United States
Conditions of Use:
Remix and Share
50 Nifty United States
Rating

We live on the continent of North America in the country of the United States. There are 50 states in this great country and as citizens of the United States we should know what those states are. In this seminar you will learn the names and locations of all 50 states. Wow your friends and family with your geographical knowledge!  Standards7.1.4.B Describe and locate places and regions as defined by physical and human features.

Subject:
Social Science
Political Science
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Author:
Bonnie Waltz
Date Added:
10/25/2017
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5f. Thinkers
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
5f. Thinkers
Rating

2,500 years ago, most humans were concerned with providing food and protection for their families and little else. Most of them were ruled by kings or pharaohs who had supreme decision-making power. The Athenian democracy encouraged countless innovative thoughts among its citizens.

Subject:
Philosophy
Ancient History
Material Type:
Diagram/Illustration
Reading
Provider:
Independence Hall Association
Provider Set:
Ancient Civilizations
Date Added:
12/05/2014
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Advancing Change through Public Awareness
Conditions of Use:
Remix and Share
Advancing Change through Public Awareness
Rating

As diseases become stronger in nature, currently available antibiotics are no longer strong enough to suppress and cure said diseases. Therefore, what factors contribute to diseases becoming resistant to drugs and what public policies should be developed around them?  In this problem-based learning module, students will work with partners or in groups to first assess the increasing problem of drug-resistant diseases and the toll they are taking on the American public. Additionally, students will work to investigate what hospitals and lawmakers are doing to address this problem. Once students understand and are familiar with the current state of affairs, they will then work to further understand and research exactly why this issue needs to be brought to the attention of the general public, in order to promote change to current hospital procedures and policies. Further, students will determine the current political climate and support (or lack thereof) for policy, and will analyze the interest in keeping, changing or removing said policies altogether. Once the group has a full understanding, students will then work to determine their position on the issues surrounding antibiotic resistant diseases and the policies associated with these diseases. As soon as the group reaches a consensus, students will work to research and determine a professional way in which to present their goals and objectives for curbing the issue of drug-resistant diseases.

Subject:
English Language Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Author:
Blended Learning Teacher Practice Network
Date Added:
11/21/2017
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American Government
Conditions of Use:
No Strings Attached
American Government
Rating

 American Government is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of the single-semester American government course. This title includes innovative features designed to enhance student learning, including Insider Perspective features and a Get Connected Module that shows students how they can get engaged in the political process. The book provides an important opportunity for students to learn the core concepts of American government and understand how those concepts apply to their lives and the world around them. American Government includes updated information on the 2016 presidential election.Senior Contributing AuthorsGlen Krutz (Content Lead), University of OklahomaSylvie Waskiewicz, PhD (Lead Editor)

Subject:
Social Science
Social Science
Political Science
Material Type:
Full Course
Provider:
Rice University
Provider Set:
OpenStax College
Date Added:
01/06/2016
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Ancient Lives
Ancient Lives
Rating

For classics scholars, the vast number of damaged and fragmentary texts from the waste dumps of Greco-Roman Egypt has resulted in a difficult and time-consuming endeavor, with each manuscript requiring a character-by-character transcription. Words are gradually identified based on the transcribed characters and the manuscripts' linguistic characteristics. Both the discovery of new literary texts and the identification of known ones are then based on this analysis in relation to the established canon of extant Greek literature and its lexicons. Documentary texts, letters, receipts, and private accounts, are similarly assessed and identified through key terms and names. Furthermore, an immense number of detached fragments still linger, waiting to be joined with others to form a once intact text of ancient thought, both known and unknown. The data not only continues to reevaluate and assess the literature and knowledge of ancient Greece, but also illuminates the lives and culture of the multi-ethnic society of Greco-Roman Egypt.

Subject:
Ancient History
Material Type:
Interactive
Provider:
Citizen Science Alliance
Provider Set:
Zooniverse
Date Added:
02/26/2016
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Applied Developmental Systems Science: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Theories, Meta-Theories, Methods, and Interventions but Didn't Realize You Needed to Ask. An Advanced Textbook
Conditions of Use:
Remix and Share
Applied Developmental Systems Science: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Theories, Meta-Theories, Methods, and Interventions but Didn't Realize You Needed to Ask. An Advanced Textbook
Rating

This textbook provides a toolbox, a guidebook, and an instruction manual for researchers and interventionists who want to conceptualize and study applied problems from a developmental systems perspective, and for those who want to teach their graduate (or advanced undergraduate) students how to do this. It is designed to be useful to practitioners who focus on applied developmental problems, such as improving the important developmental contexts where people live, learn, and work, including the applied professions in education, social work, counseling, health care, community development, and business, all of which at their core are concerned with optimizing the development of their students, clients, patients, workers, citizens, and others whose lives they touch.

Subject:
Education
Material Type:
Textbook
Provider:
Portland State University
Provider Set:
PDXOpen
Author:
Thomas A. Kindermann; Andrew Mashburn; Robert W. Roeser; Ellen A. Skinner; Cathleen L. Smith; Joel Steele
Date Added:
12/29/2015
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